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Many people think of relapse as the moment when you use again, starting a downward spiral into intoxication. But it’s actually a more elaborate process than that. The key to preventing relapse during your recovery and sobriety from drugs or alcohol is to understand the stages of relapse as they play out in your mind, your body, and your life.

You’ve finally done it. You fight your way through the pain and torture of drug detox after making the difficult decision to get clean. There’s the medical attention and the rehab, then there’s putting your life and relationships back together. It’s a horrendously difficult process that produces champions of anyone brave enough to fight through the gauntlet and come out on the other side clean, sober, and alive.

We all have it, to some degree. It’s almost unavoidable in today’s super-charged, fast-paced world of business and communication. Stress is on everyone’s shoulders, there’s no doubt about it. But how we deal with stress varies from person to person. Some people let it out with recreational sports or gaming while others hold it in and let it gnaw at them in unhealthy ways.

The signs are everywhere. It seems like there’s a new one springing up every few weeks. Everyone is doing it. Why not you? You can start small….a 5K is a great place to start. Then a 10k. Work yourself up and eventually you can do it...you can run a full length marathon at 26.2 miles.

A heartbroken young woman emailed us last week asking how to deal with her grief and depression without resorting to drugs. She had recently split with a long term boyfriend and described the state of constant pain and anguish that typically drives a person to reach for something that will dull the pain.

The answer is, of course, more than just “I use a fork.” There are many things we do throughout the day that reflect the level of respect we have for ourselves and eating is one of them. Consuming nutrient-rich foods that fuel the body and maintain energy is one of the most important and most intimate things we do to stay alive and so many people completely disrespect themselves with sloppy eating habits and unhealthy food.

Every now and then you’ll hear these fad dieters talk about “cheat days” when they can sneak away from their hardcore diet of salads and beats to indulge in something that tastes good, like a cheese pizza or milkshake. While there is some dietary to allowing periodic fluctuations in your diet, the general idea is that you have to reward yourself now and then in order to maintain motivation to keep going with the diet.

While you’re slogging it out in the trenches, fighting your own personal battle with something most people can’t and don’t understand, every day is a precarious knife’s edge where anything could set you off toward a relapse. (Especially early on in your recover!) In order to stay strong in your marathon challenge, it’s vitally important that you identify your triggers and build in safeguards against those sneaky devils.